Outbreak

LONDON (AP) — An experimental Ebola vaccine tested on thousands of people in Guinea seems to work and might help shut down the waning epidemic in West Africa, according to interim results from a study […]

No new bird flu cases have been reported in nearly a week on commercial farms in Minnesota and Iowa, giving government officials, scientists and farmers hope that the worst U.S. outbreak of the bird flu is, though not over, winding down.

State officials say the cost for responding to a deadly bird flu outbreak has risen to roughly $6 million. The scope of the outbreak has nearly doubled in the last week alone. Nearly 50 Minnesota turkey farms had been hit as of Friday, costing farmers almost 3 million birds.

Authorities have confirmed another bird flu outbreak at a Minnesota turkey farm, raising the state’s total to 14 affected farms. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Saturday that the latest case is a commercial turkey flock with 38,000 birds in Kandiyohi County.

Minnesota’s only active measles case, a 20-year-old University of Minnesota student, has passed the infectious stage. It will be at least another week until health officials find out if that one case spread elsewhere.

The University of Minnesota is in the news this week after a student tested positive for measles – the first confirmed measles case for the school in 20 years. But it hasn’t been long since Minnesota experienced an outbreak.

Fewer Minnesotans are getting sick with the flu. The CDC downgraded the flu in Minnesota from widespread to regional on Thursday. The Minnesota Department of Health says 21 people were hospitalized with the flu this week. There were 80 last week.

State health officials say they won’t be done watching for the spread of Ebola for at least another year. The Minnesota Department of Health is currently monitoring 47 residents who traveled from the West African countries ravaged by the deadly virus. As of Sunday, the state had cleared 216 travelers after a 21-day monitoring period. No cases have been confirmed in Minnesota.

A fourth child has died from influenza in Minnesota since late September, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The flu still remains widespread throughout the state, although hospitalizations and school outbreaks were significantly lower than last week.

The number of Minnesota schools suffering from flu outbreaks shot up dramatically this week. Last week, only 19 schools reported new outbreaks. This week, that number spiked to 203. The Minnesota Department of Health also said Thursday that two children have now died from the flu in Minnesota. And more than 300 people have gotten so sick they had to stay in the hospital.

The NHL is facing an unusual outbreak of the mumps. So far, about a dozen players on four teams have been diagnosed with the illness that usually strikes children. It started in Anaheim and plagued the Ducks, who had three players affected. It then moved to the Minnesota Wild, who had five victims.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike McFadden is renewing his call for a travel ban from countries being ravaged by Ebola. McFadden says the fourth confirmed case of the virus in the country — a New York doctor recently tested positive — proves the U.S. hasn’t done enough to halt Ebola’s spread.

With Minnesota home to the largest Liberian population outside of West Africa, there’s growing concern that the deadly virus could travel here. That’s why Gov. Mark Dayton called together a panel of health, public safety and government leaders on Friday to update Minnesota’s plans and preparedness.

Gov. Mark Dayton says Minnesota is as ready as possible to handle an outbreak of Ebola. Dayton met Thursday with cabinet members, airport representatives and health officials to assess the level of the state’s preparedness. The case of Thomas Duncan, a Liberian who died Wednesday of Ebola in Texas, has raised concerns around the country.

A nationally renowned bio-security expert says the recent cases of the Ebola virus may turn into the largest outbreak we’ve ever seen. Dr. Michael Ostherholm is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, as well as a professor at the University of Minnesota.

The University of Minnesota is monitoring the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa and has taken some precautions. Students from West Africa coming to the U are not asked to take extra health checks as a precaution against the spread of the Ebola virus.

A Twin Cities nonprofit group called One Village Partners has been directly affected by the Ebola outbreak. They are an organization which supports individual villages in Sierra Leone, one of the countries hardest hit by Ebola.

Members of Minnesota’s sizeable Liberian community say an Ebola outbreak that has killed hundreds of people in West Africa, including a local woman’s husband, has them worrying about relatives and scrambling to raise money to help prevent the virus from spreading.

The Minnesota Department of Health is investigating a possible outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness at a Minnetonka elementary school. Health department officials say at least 51 students and four staff members at Groveland Elementary School were out sick on Thursday.